Menu

Thursday, 19 January 2017

How to Network and Make Good Connections in Nigeria

If
you are one of those people who have resolved to step up their networking
skills in 2017 and forge meaningful relationships within and outside their
organizations for the betterment of their careers, this article is for you.

And
if you have not made that resolution, the question is what are you waiting for?
As long as you are a career-minded or business-minded person, or even a
job-seeker, you need to know how to seek the right connections and keep them
alive through continuous networking.

First,
let’s clarify what is meant by ‘Networking’ and ‘Connections’ in this article,
so we are all on the same page on what exactly is being discussed here.

According
to Merriam Webster Dictionary, Networking
is the exchange of
information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions;specifically: the cultivation of productive
relationships for employment or business. The other definition is the
establishment or use of a computernetwork, but of course we all know we are
not talking about that.

Connections, also according to the same source,
is a political, social,
professional, or commercial relationship.

From these definitions it is clear how important
these two things are to our survival as human beings whether as career people,
business people or just basically a man or woman seeking to inter-relate with
others. Networking and connections are the lifeblood of a healthy society,
hence there is no debate about how important they are. What most people want to
know is how to network effectively and make quality connections that are
beneficial to all parties involved. This is the question this article seeks to
address.

Networking effectively goes beyond our
spontaneous every-day relations. It is the conscious effort to identify the
sort of people we need for the advancement of our careers or personal
endeavours, connect with them for mutually beneficial relationships, and keep
the relationship alive by continuously connecting and re-connecting. Yes, networking
goes beyond making pointless small talk, but hey, it is not meant to be boring
or something we turn into a task. It should be fun and exciting but directed at
yielding meaningful results

.

So how do you network effectively and
forge quality connections, especially in a country like Nigeria, and enjoy
every minute of it? Here are some tips:

1.Know and Identify: Thiscan be simply expanded to know your career/business objectives and
identify those that can help you achieve them. These people could be
colleagues (senior or at the same hierarchy) or mentors at work or online. It
is however advisable to pick people that are already operating at the level you
are aspiring for, and even more importantly, surround yourself with people who
are smarter than you.

2.Meet and Mingle:
One of the ways of meeting the right people to network with is simply by
mingling a lot. Get yourself out there. There are a variety of places at which one
can get to meet people and hence find like-minded individuals to associate with;
from social clubs/societies (Rotary, Lions etc), to worship places, to cinemas,
to restaurants, to conferences and events, and even parties (yes owambes are a great place to network). The
list is endless. It is up to you to figure out the sort of places the people
you want to mingle with will most likely be found at and frequent those places
a lot.

3.Social Networking Does Magic:
While it can be a monster that consumes all your time and leaves you with low
productivity if badly or over used, social media is a gem for meeting new people.
What’s more, you can easily do background checks on people you are interested
in relating with and filter down to the quality ones without investing a lot of
time in first getting to know them like you would with physical connections. On
Sprocial.com,you
are able to meet lots of professionals and filter job roles/career types to find
the sort of people you want to mingle with. LinkedIn and Google Plus are also
great places to meet professionals online. Twitter is well suited to enable you
meet key opinion formers in your line of interest and connect with them.

4.Give and Take: Like
the popular saying goes, “Life is all about give and take”. When building
relationships, you must always be aware of the fact that it has to be a
mutually beneficial relationship for it to last. No one wants to be used and
people quickly get tired of a relationship they are getting nothing out of,
even Mentors. So, always have something to bring to the table when connecting
with others.

Pro Tip:
Give before you ask for anything. By giving, we aren’t talking about gifts or
money, of course. Giving what you would like to get in return is one of the
most effective ways of getting someone to want to connect and relate with you. Examples;
sharing information you have on a topic you know interests the other person,
volunteering to help out with something the other person needs done, teaching
them a skill or technique they need. An example is a situation in which a student
was able to form a bond with a Professor by showing him how to use Google Maps.
He soon became the Professor’s go-to-person whenever he needed something that
had to do with technology. Hence, he was able to access the Professor’s wealth
of knowledge in his field of study.

Think of networking as an emotional bank account—you have to
make deposits and amass capital before you can make a withdrawal.

5.Be Intriguing: So
you have identified that wonderful person you want to connect with, you have
met them and started a conversation with them, you know what you stand to gain
from a relationship with them and also that you have quite a few things to
offer them. Now you have to ensure you hold their attention long enough for the
relationship to actually form and not bore them off in the first five minutes
of meeting you. You have to be intriguing; interesting. Be different from the
norm, say and do things that will make them want to know more about you. But of
course do not say untrue things just to grab their attention; you have to be
unauthentic otherwise you will just come across as a fraud.

6.Variety is the Spice of Networking: While
it is important to know your bull’s eye target of the sort of people you want
to network with, you need to be careful not to fall into the trap of limiting
yourself to only a certain type of people while doing so. For instance, a doctor
with aspirations of owning his own hospital will be doing himself a great
disservice if he narrows the people he needs to mingle with to only medical professionals.
He needs to also network with successful entrepreneurs in other fields in other
to pick up entrepreneurial skills or gain information from them (an agricultural
entrepreneur might be able to provide him with information on how to secure the
funding that will help him on his way). While filtering to ensure you network
with the right quality of people, you have to remember to broaden your scope.

7.Birds of the Same Feather…: Like
the saying goes, people with similar attributes get along easily. In order to
break down the defenses of those you are interested in connecting with, you
need to identify common grounds. Find out something they like to do that you
enjoy as well and play this up. For instance, you meet a Mr. Bode who is a Bank
Manager and you, as a budding Financial Analyst, would like him to be your
Mentor. You notice he has an Arsenal Football Club sticker on his car and you
happen to support the same club. There, you have your ice-breaker, you can
start up conversations around this common interest.

8.Be Honest and Trustworthy: This
can never be over-emphasized. No matter how intriguing and interesting you are
and how easily you are able to make connections with people, you immediately lose
them once they find out you are dishonest or someone they cannot trust. It is
important to act with integrity always. People find those with integrity quite
dependable and are able to open up to them without inhibitions, a very
important quality if you want to build genuine and long-lasting connections.

9.Nurture and Maintain: Now
you have created meaning relationships with worthy connections both online and
offline. The work is still not done. You have to ensure you keep the
relationship alive and vibrant through continuous re-connection, sharing and
communication. Relationships are like plants, they need to be watered regularly
or they start to rot.

While doing these things, keep in
mind that networking is about being genuine,authentic, open, and helpful. With
these qualities, you will find yourself building a strong forte of quality
relationships with people that contribute meaningful to your personal and
career growth.